diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,3 +1,9 @@
+## 0.9.0.0
+
+- Added `split()` builtin
+- Added support for byte arrays, represented as `ByteString` on the Haskell
+  side
+
 ## 0.8.4.0
 
 - Added builtin `apply`, making it possible to pass argument lists as arrays
diff --git a/cli/GingerCLI.hs b/cli/GingerCLI.hs
--- a/cli/GingerCLI.hs
+++ b/cli/GingerCLI.hs
@@ -8,7 +8,8 @@
 
 import Text.Ginger
 import Text.Ginger.Html
-import Data.Text as Text
+import Data.Text (Text)
+import qualified Data.Text as Text
 import qualified Data.Aeson as JSON
 import qualified Data.Yaml as YAML
 import Data.Maybe
diff --git a/cli/Options.hs b/cli/Options.hs
--- a/cli/Options.hs
+++ b/cli/Options.hs
@@ -1,6 +1,7 @@
 module Options
 where
 
+import Data.Semigroup ( (<>) ) -- needed for GHC 8.0 and 8.2
 import Options.Applicative
 
 
diff --git a/ginger.cabal b/ginger.cabal
--- a/ginger.cabal
+++ b/ginger.cabal
@@ -1,8 +1,6 @@
--- Initial ginger.cabal generated by cabal init.  For further
--- documentation, see http://haskell.org/cabal/users-guide/
-
+cabal-version:       2.2
 name:                ginger
-version:             0.8.4.1
+version:             0.10.6.0
 synopsis:            An implementation of the Jinja2 template language in Haskell
 description:         Ginger is Jinja, minus the most blatant pythonisms. Wants
                      to be feature complete, but isn't quite there yet.
@@ -17,14 +15,26 @@
 extra-source-files:  README.md
                   ,  CHANGELOG.md
 data-files: test/fixtures/*.json
-cabal-version:       >=1.10
 bug-reports:         https://github.com/tdammers/ginger/issues
 
 source-repository head
     type: git
     location: https://github.com/tdammers/ginger
 
+common deps
+  build-depends: base >=4.8 && <5
+               , aeson >=1.4.2.0 && <2.3
+               , bytestring >=0.10.8.2 && <0.13
+               , data-default >= 0.5 && <0.9
+               , mtl >= 2.2 && <2.4
+               , text >=1.2.3.1 && <2.2
+               , time >= 0.1.6.0 && <1.15
+               , transformers >= 0.3 && <0.7
+               , unordered-containers >= 0.2.5 && <0.3
+               , utf8-string >=1.0.1.1 && <1.1
+
 library
+  import: deps
   exposed-modules: Text.Ginger
                  , Text.Ginger.AST
                  , Text.Ginger.GVal
@@ -39,65 +49,42 @@
                  , Text.Ginger.Run.FuncUtils
   -- other-modules:
   -- other-extensions:
-  build-depends: base >=4.8 && <5
-               , aeson >=1.4.2.0 && <1.5
-               , aeson-pretty >=0.8.7 && <0.9
-               , bytestring >=0.10.8.2 && <0.11
-               , data-default >= 0.5
-               , filepath >= 1.3
-               , http-types >= 0.8 && (< 0.11 || >= 0.12)
-               , mtl >= 2.2
-               , parsec >= 3.0
-               , regex-tdfa >=1.2.3 && <=1.3
-               , safe >= 0.3
-               , scientific >= 0.3
-               , text >=1.2.3.1 && <1.3
-               , time >= 0.1.6.0
-               , transformers >= 0.3
-               , unordered-containers >= 0.2.5
-               , utf8-string >=1.0.1.1 && <1.1
-               , vector >=0.12.0.2 && <0.13
+  build-depends: aeson-pretty >=0.8.7 && <0.9
+               , containers >=0.6.4 && <0.8
+               , filepath >= 1.3 && <1.6
+               , http-types >= 0.8 && (< 0.11 || >= 0.12) && <0.13
+               , parsec >= 3.0 && <3.2
+               , regex-tdfa >=1.2.3 && <=1.4
+               , safe >= 0.3 && <0.4
+               , scientific >= 0.3 && <0.4
+               , vector >=0.12.0.2 && <0.14
   if !impl(ghc >= 8.0)
     build-depends: semigroups == 0.18.*
   hs-source-dirs:      src
   default-language:    Haskell2010
 
 executable ginger
+    import: deps
+    if impl(ghcjs)
+        buildable: False
     main-is: GingerCLI.hs
     other-modules: Options
     hs-source-dirs: cli
     default-language:    Haskell2010
-    build-depends: base >= 4.8 && <5
-                 , ginger
-                 , aeson >=1.4.2.0 && <1.5
-                 , bytestring >=0.10.8.2 && <0.11
-                 , data-default >= 0.5
-                 , optparse-applicative >=0.14.3.0 && <0.15
+    build-depends: ginger
+                 , optparse-applicative >=0.14.3.0 && <0.19
                  , process >=1.6.5.0 && <1.7
-                 , text >=1.2.3.1 && <1.3
-                 , transformers >=0.5.6.2 && <0.6
-                 , unordered-containers >= 0.2.5
-                 , utf8-string >=1.0.1.1 && <1.1
                  , yaml >=0.11.0.0 && <0.12
 
 test-suite tests
+    import: deps
     type: exitcode-stdio-1.0
     main-is: Spec.hs
     other-modules: Text.Ginger.PropertyTests
                  , Text.Ginger.SimulationTests
     hs-source-dirs: test
     default-language: Haskell2010
-    build-depends: base >=4.8 && <5
-                 , ginger
-                 , aeson >=1.4.2.0 && <1.5
-                 , bytestring >=0.10.8.2 && <0.11
-                 , data-default >=0.5
-                 , mtl >=2.2.2 && <2.3
-                 , tasty >=1.2.1 && <1.3
+    build-depends: ginger
+                 , tasty >=1.2 && <1.6
                  , tasty-hunit >=0.10.0.1 && <0.11
-                 , tasty-quickcheck >=0.10 && <0.11
-                 , text >=1.2.3.1 && <1.3
-                 , time >= 0.1.6.0
-                 , transformers >=0.5.6.2 && <0.6
-                 , unordered-containers >= 0.2.5
-                 , utf8-string >=1.0.1.1 && <1.1
+                 , tasty-quickcheck >=0.10 && <0.12
diff --git a/src/Text/Ginger/GVal.hs b/src/Text/Ginger/GVal.hs
--- a/src/Text/Ginger/GVal.hs
+++ b/src/Text/Ginger/GVal.hs
@@ -1,3 +1,4 @@
+{-#LANGUAGE CPP #-}
 {-#LANGUAGE OverloadedStrings #-}
 {-#LANGUAGE MultiParamTypeClasses #-}
 {-#LANGUAGE FlexibleInstances #-}
@@ -38,6 +39,7 @@
                , Monad
                , Functor
                )
+import Control.Monad.Fail (MonadFail)
 import qualified Prelude
 import Data.Maybe ( fromMaybe, catMaybes, isJust, mapMaybe )
 import Data.Text (Text)
@@ -58,8 +60,14 @@
 import Data.Fixed (Fixed (..), Pico)
 import Control.Applicative
 import qualified Data.Aeson as JSON
+#if MIN_VERSION_aeson(2,0,0)
+import qualified Data.Aeson.Key as AK
+import qualified Data.Aeson.KeyMap as AKM
+#endif
 import qualified Data.HashMap.Strict as HashMap
 import Data.HashMap.Strict (HashMap)
+import qualified Data.Map.Strict as Map
+import Data.Map.Strict (Map)
 import qualified Data.Vector as Vector
 import Control.Monad ((<=<), forM, mapM)
 import Control.Monad.Trans (MonadTrans, lift)
@@ -78,6 +86,11 @@
                  , TimeZone (..)
                  , TimeLocale (..)
                  )
+import Data.ByteString (ByteString)
+import qualified Data.ByteString as BS
+import qualified Data.ByteString.Lazy as LBS
+import Data.Text.Encoding (encodeUtf8, decodeUtf8)
+import qualified Data.Text.Lazy.Encoding as LText
 
 import Text.Ginger.Html
 
@@ -106,6 +119,7 @@
         , asBoolean :: Bool -- ^ Get value's truthiness
         , asNumber :: Maybe Scientific -- ^ Convert value to a number, if possible
         , asFunction :: Maybe (Function m) -- ^ Access value as a callable function, if it is one
+        , asBytes :: Maybe ByteString -- ^ Access as raw bytes
         , length :: Maybe Int -- ^ Get length of value, if it is a collection (list/dict)
         , isNull :: Bool -- ^ Check if the value is null
         , asJSON :: Maybe JSON.Value -- ^ Provide a custom JSON representation of the value
@@ -122,6 +136,7 @@
         return $ \k -> lookupA k <|> lookupB k
     , asHtml = asHtml a <> asHtml b
     , asText = asText a <> asText b
+    , asBytes = asBytes a <> asBytes b
     , asBoolean = (asBoolean a || asBoolean b) && not (isNull a || isNull b)
     , asNumber = readMay . Text.unpack $ (asText a <> asText b)
     , asFunction = Nothing
@@ -148,6 +163,7 @@
         , asLookup = fmap (fmap marshalGVal .) (asLookup g)
         , asHtml = asHtml g
         , asText = asText g
+        , asBytes = asBytes g
         , asBoolean = asBoolean g
         , asNumber = asNumber g
         , asFunction = Nothing
@@ -173,6 +189,7 @@
         , asLookup = fmap (fmap (marshalGValEx hoist unhoist) .) (asLookup g)
         , asHtml = asHtml g
         , asText = asText g
+        , asBytes = asBytes g
         , asBoolean = asBoolean g
         , asNumber = asNumber g
         , asFunction = marshalFunction hoist unhoist <$> asFunction g
@@ -202,6 +219,7 @@
             , asLookup = Nothing
             , asHtml = unsafeRawHtml ""
             , asText = ""
+            , asBytes = Nothing
             , asBoolean = False
             , asNumber = Nothing
             , asFunction = Nothing
@@ -323,6 +341,7 @@
                 def
                     { asHtml = mconcat . Prelude.map asHtml $ xs
                     , asText = mconcat . Prelude.map asText $ xs
+                    , asBytes = mconcat . Prelude.map asBytes $ xs
                     , asBoolean = not . List.null $ xs
                     , isNull = False
                     , asList = Just $ Prelude.map toGVal xs
@@ -338,12 +357,29 @@
                 def
                     { asHtml = mconcat . Prelude.map asHtml . HashMap.elems $ xs
                     , asText = mconcat . Prelude.map asText . HashMap.elems $ xs
+                    , asBytes = mconcat . Prelude.map asBytes . HashMap.elems $ xs
                     , asBoolean = not . HashMap.null $ xs
                     , isNull = False
                     , asLookup = Just (`HashMap.lookup` xs)
                     , asDictItems = Just $ HashMap.toList xs
                     }
 
+-- | 'Map' of 'Text' becomes a dictionary-like 'GVal'
+instance ToGVal m v => ToGVal m (Map Text v) where
+    toGVal xs = helper (Map.map toGVal xs)
+        where
+            helper :: Map Text (GVal m) -> GVal m
+            helper xs =
+                def
+                    { asHtml = mconcat . Prelude.map asHtml . Map.elems $ xs
+                    , asText = mconcat . Prelude.map asText . Map.elems $ xs
+                    , asBytes = mconcat . Prelude.map asBytes . Map.elems $ xs
+                    , asBoolean = not . Map.null $ xs
+                    , isNull = False
+                    , asLookup = Just (`Map.lookup` xs)
+                    , asDictItems = Just $ Map.toAscList xs
+                    }
+
 instance ToGVal m Int where
     toGVal x =
         def
@@ -359,6 +395,7 @@
         def
             { asHtml = html . Text.pack . show $ x
             , asText = Text.pack . show $ x
+            , asBytes = Just . encodeUtf8 . Text.pack . show $ x
             , asBoolean = x /= 0
             , asNumber = Just . fromIntegral $ x
             , isNull = False
@@ -369,6 +406,7 @@
         def
             { asHtml = html $ scientificToText x
             , asText = scientificToText x
+            , asBytes = Just . encodeUtf8 . scientificToText $ x
             , asBoolean = x /= 0
             , asNumber = Just x
             , isNull = False
@@ -382,6 +420,7 @@
         in (orderedDict dayDict)
             { asHtml = html $ formatted
             , asText = formatted
+            , asBytes = Just . encodeUtf8 $ formatted
             , asBoolean = True
             , asNumber = Just . fromIntegral $ julian
             , asList = Just (List.map snd dayDict)
@@ -402,6 +441,7 @@
         in (orderedDict timeDict)
             { asHtml = html $ formatted
             , asText = formatted
+            , asBytes = Just . encodeUtf8 $ formatted
             , asBoolean = True
             , asNumber = Nothing
             , asList = Just (List.map snd timeDict)
@@ -425,6 +465,7 @@
                 ])
             { asHtml = html $ formatted
             , asText = formatted
+            , asBytes = Just . encodeUtf8 $ formatted
             , asBoolean = True
             , asNumber = Nothing
             , asList = Just (List.map snd dtDict)
@@ -455,6 +496,7 @@
         in (dict timeLocaleDict)
             { asHtml = html $ formattedExample
             , asText = formattedExample
+            , asBytes = Just . encodeUtf8 $ formattedExample
             , asBoolean = True
             , asNumber = Nothing
             }
@@ -481,6 +523,7 @@
         in (dict dtDict)
             { asHtml = html $ formatted
             , asText = formatted
+            , asBytes = Just . encodeUtf8 $ formatted
             , asBoolean = True
             , asNumber = Nothing
             }
@@ -513,6 +556,7 @@
             { asHtml = if x then html "1" else html ""
             , asText = if x then "1" else ""
             , asBoolean = x
+            , asBytes = Just $ if x then "1" else "0"
             , asNumber = Just $ if x then 1 else 0
             , isNull = False
             , asJSON = Just (JSON.Bool x)
@@ -527,6 +571,7 @@
         def
             { asHtml = html . Text.pack $ x
             , asText = Text.pack x
+            , asBytes = Just . encodeUtf8 . Text.pack $ x
             , asBoolean = not $ Prelude.null x
             , asNumber = readMay x
             , isNull = False
@@ -542,6 +587,7 @@
         def
             { asHtml = html x
             , asText = x
+            , asBytes = Just . encodeUtf8 $ x
             , asBoolean = not $ Text.null x
             , asNumber = readMay . Text.unpack $ x
             , isNull = False
@@ -552,11 +598,34 @@
         def
             { asHtml = html (LText.toStrict x)
             , asText = LText.toStrict x
+            , asBytes = Just . LBS.toStrict . LText.encodeUtf8 $ x
             , asBoolean = not $ LText.null x
             , asNumber = readMay . LText.unpack $ x
             , isNull = False
             }
 
+instance ToGVal m ByteString where
+    toGVal x =
+        def
+            { asHtml = html (decodeUtf8 x)
+            , asText = decodeUtf8 x
+            , asBytes = Just x
+            , asBoolean = not $ BS.null x
+            , asNumber = readMay . Text.unpack . decodeUtf8 $ x
+            , isNull = False
+            }
+
+instance ToGVal m LBS.ByteString where
+    toGVal x =
+        def
+            { asHtml = html . LText.toStrict . LText.decodeUtf8 $ x
+            , asText = LText.toStrict . LText.decodeUtf8 $ x
+            , asBytes = Just . LBS.toStrict $ x
+            , asBoolean = not $ LBS.null x
+            , asNumber = readMay . LText.unpack . LText.decodeUtf8 $ x
+            , isNull = False
+            }
+--
 -- | This instance is slightly wrong; the 'asBoolean', 'asNumber', and 'asText'
 -- methods all treat the HTML source as plain text. We do this to avoid parsing
 -- the HTML back into a 'Text' (and dealing with possible parser errors); the
@@ -595,6 +664,24 @@
 rawJSONToGVal (JSON.Array a) = toGVal $ Vector.toList a
 rawJSONToGVal (JSON.Object o) = toGVal o
 
+#if MIN_VERSION_aeson(2,0,0)
+-- | 'AKM.KeyMap' of 'JSON.Value' becomes a dictionary-like 'GVal'
+instance ToGVal m (AKM.KeyMap JSON.Value) where
+    toGVal xs = helper (AKM.map toGVal xs)
+        where
+            helper :: AKM.KeyMap (GVal m) -> GVal m
+            helper xs =
+                def
+                    { asHtml = mconcat . List.map (asHtml . snd) . AKM.toList $ xs
+                    , asText = mconcat . List.map (asText . snd) . AKM.toList $ xs
+                    , asBytes = mconcat . List.map (asBytes . snd) . AKM.toList $ xs
+                    , asBoolean = not . AKM.null $ xs
+                    , isNull = False
+                    , asLookup = Just $ (`AKM.lookup` xs) . AK.fromText
+                    , asDictItems = Just . List.map (\(k,v) -> (AK.toText k, v)) . AKM.toList $ xs
+                    }
+#endif
+
 -- | Turn a 'Function' into a 'GVal'
 fromFunction :: Function m -> GVal m
 fromFunction f =
@@ -777,7 +864,7 @@
     fromGVal :: GVal m -> Maybe a
     fromGVal = Prelude.either (const Nothing) Just . fromGValEither
 
-fromGValM :: (Monad m, FromGVal m a) => GVal m -> m a
+fromGValM :: (MonadFail m, FromGVal m a) => GVal m -> m a
 fromGValM = Prelude.either Prelude.fail return . fromGValEither
 
 instance FromGVal m Int where
@@ -794,6 +881,12 @@
 
 instance FromGVal m (GVal m) where
     fromGVal = Just
+
+instance FromGVal m ByteString where
+    fromGVal = asBytes
+
+instance FromGVal m LBS.ByteString where
+    fromGVal = fmap LBS.fromStrict . asBytes
 
 instance FromGVal m a => FromGVal m (Maybe a) where
     fromGVal = \g ->
diff --git a/src/Text/Ginger/Parse.hs b/src/Text/Ginger/Parse.hs
--- a/src/Text/Ginger/Parse.hs
+++ b/src/Text/Ginger/Parse.hs
@@ -37,7 +37,7 @@
                    , runParserT
                    , try, lookAhead
                    , manyTill, oneOf, string, notFollowedBy, between, sepBy
-                   , eof, spaces, anyChar, noneOf, char
+                   , eof, space, spaces, anyChar, noneOf, char
                    , choice, option, optionMaybe
                    , unexpected
                    , digit
@@ -439,15 +439,25 @@
 literalStmtP :: Monad m => Parser m (Statement SourcePos)
 literalStmtP = do
     pos <- getPosition
-    txt <- manyTill literalCharP endOfLiteralP
+    txt <- concat <$> manyTill literalCharsP endOfLiteralP
 
     case txt of
         [] -> unexpected "{{"
         _ -> return . LiteralS pos . unsafeRawHtml . Text.pack $ txt
 
-literalCharP :: Monad m => Parser m Char
-literalCharP =
-    literalNewlineP <|> anyChar
+literalCharsP :: Monad m => Parser m [Char]
+literalCharsP = do
+    dlims <- psDelimiters <$> getState
+    let forbiddenChars =
+          nub . sort $
+            " \t\r\n" ++
+            delimOpenInterpolation dlims ++
+            delimOpenComment dlims ++
+            delimOpenTag dlims
+    (some $ noneOf forbiddenChars) <|>
+      (fmap (:[]) literalNewlineP) <|>
+      some space <|>
+      (fmap (:[]) anyChar)
 
 literalNewlineP :: Monad m => Parser m Char
 literalNewlineP = do
diff --git a/src/Text/Ginger/Run.hs b/src/Text/Ginger/Run.hs
--- a/src/Text/Ginger/Run.hs
+++ b/src/Text/Ginger/Run.hs
@@ -95,7 +95,7 @@
 import Text.Printf
 import Text.PrintfA
 import Text.Ginger.Parse (parseGinger, ParserError)
-import Control.Monad.Except (runExceptT, throwError, catchError)
+import Control.Monad.Trans.Except (runExceptT, catchE)
 
 import Data.Text (Text)
 import Data.String (fromString)
@@ -109,6 +109,8 @@
 import Control.Applicative
 import qualified Data.HashMap.Strict as HashMap
 import Data.HashMap.Strict (HashMap)
+import qualified Data.Map.Strict as Map
+import Data.Map.Strict (Map)
 import Data.Scientific (Scientific, formatScientific)
 import qualified Data.Scientific as Scientific
 import Data.Default (def)
@@ -116,6 +118,7 @@
 import Network.HTTP.Types (urlEncode)
 import Debug.Trace (trace)
 import Data.List (lookup, zipWith, unzip)
+import Data.Monoid (Monoid (..), (<>))
 import Data.Aeson as JSON
 
 defaultScope :: forall m h p
@@ -183,10 +186,12 @@
     , ("product", fromFunction . variadicNumericFunc 1 $ Prelude.product)
     , ("ratio", fromFunction . variadicNumericFunc 1 $ Scientific.fromFloatDigits . ratio . Prelude.map Scientific.toRealFloat)
     , ("replace", fromFunction gfnReplace)
+    , ("reverse", fromFunction gfnReverse)
     , ("round", fromFunction . unaryNumericFunc 0 $ Prelude.fromIntegral . Prelude.round)
     , ("show", fromFunction . unaryFunc $ fromString . show)
     , ("slice", fromFunction gfnSlice)
     , ("sort", fromFunction gfnSort)
+    , ("split", fromFunction gfnSplit)
     , ("str", fromFunction . unaryFunc $ toGVal . asText)
     , ("sum", fromFunction . variadicNumericFunc 0 $ Prelude.sum)
     , ("truncate", fromFunction . unaryNumericFunc 0 $ Prelude.fromIntegral . Prelude.truncate)
@@ -280,8 +285,6 @@
               , ToGVal (Run p m h) p
               , Monoid h
               , Monad m
-              , Applicative m
-              , Functor m
               )
            => GingerContext p m h
            -> Template p
@@ -301,8 +304,6 @@
                , ToGVal (Run p m h) p
                , Monoid h
                , Monad m
-               , Applicative m
-               , Functor m
                )
             => Template p
             -> Run p m h (GVal (Run p m h))
@@ -310,7 +311,7 @@
     runStatement . templateBody . baseTemplate
 
 -- | Run an action within a different template context.
-withTemplate :: (Monad m, Applicative m, Functor m)
+withTemplate :: Monad m
              => Template p
              -> Run p m h a
              -> Run p m h a
@@ -323,7 +324,7 @@
     return result
 
 -- | Run an action within a block context
-withBlockName :: (Monad m, Applicative m, Functor m)
+withBlockName :: Monad m
               => VarName
               -> Run p m h a
               -> Run p m h a
@@ -334,7 +335,7 @@
     modify (\s -> s { rsCurrentBlockName = oldBlockName })
     return result
 
-lookupBlock :: (Monad m, Applicative m, Functor m) => VarName -> Run p m h (Block p)
+lookupBlock :: Monad m => VarName -> Run p m h (Block p)
 lookupBlock blockName = do
     tpl <- gets rsCurrentTemplate
     let blockMay = resolveBlock blockName tpl
@@ -356,7 +357,6 @@
                 , ToGVal (Run p m h) p
                 , Monoid h
                 , Monad m
-                , Functor m
                 )
              => Statement p
              -> Run p m h (GVal (Run p m h))
@@ -370,7 +370,6 @@
                 , ToGVal (Run p m h) p
                 , Monoid h
                 , Monad m
-                , Functor m
                 )
              => Statement p
              -> Run p m h (GVal (Run p m h))
@@ -432,7 +431,7 @@
 
 runStatement' (ScopedS _ body) = withLocalScope runInner
     where
-        runInner :: (Functor m, Monad m) => Run p m h (GVal (Run p m h))
+        runInner :: Monad m => Run p m h (GVal (Run p m h))
         runInner = runStatement body
 
 runStatement' (ForS _ varNameIndex varNameValue itereeExpr body) = do
@@ -487,7 +486,7 @@
     withTemplate tpl $ runTemplate tpl
 
 runStatement' (TryCatchS _ tryS catchesS finallyS) = do
-    result <- (runStatement tryS) `catchError` handle catchesS
+    result <- (runStatement tryS) `catchE` handle catchesS
     runStatement finallyS
     return result
     where
@@ -509,7 +508,6 @@
              . ( ToGVal (Run p m h) h
                , ToGVal (Run p m h) p
                , Monoid h
-               , Functor m
                , Monad m
                ) => Macro p -> GVal (Run p m h)
 macroToGVal (Macro argNames body) =
@@ -553,7 +551,7 @@
         l <- asText <$> runExpression a
         r <- runExpression b
         return (l, r)
-    return . toGVal . HashMap.fromList $ items
+    return . toGVal . Map.fromList $ items
 runExpression' (MemberLookupE _ baseExpr indexExpr) = do
     base <- runExpression baseExpr
     index <- runExpression indexExpr
@@ -583,7 +581,7 @@
 
 -- | Helper function to output a HTML value using whatever print function the
 -- context provides.
-echo :: (Monad m, Applicative m, Functor m, Monoid h)
+echo :: (Monad m, Monoid h)
      => GVal (Run p m h) -> Run p m h ()
 echo src = do
     e <- asks contextEncode
@@ -604,20 +602,20 @@
                     rsAtLineStart = endsWithNewline newlines l
                 }
 
-indented :: (Monad m, Applicative m, Functor m, Monoid h)
+indented :: (Monad m, Monoid h)
          => h
          -> Run p m h a
          -> Run p m h a
 indented i action = do
     pushIndent i *> action <* popIndent
 
-pushIndent :: (Monad m, Applicative m, Functor m, Monoid h)
+pushIndent :: (Monad m, Monoid h)
            => h
            -> Run p m h ()
 pushIndent i =
     modify $ \state ->
         state { rsIndentation = increaseIndent i (rsIndentation state) }
-popIndent :: (Monad m, Applicative m, Functor m, Monoid h)
+popIndent :: (Monad m, Monoid h)
            => Run p m h ()
 popIndent =
     modify $ \state ->
diff --git a/src/Text/Ginger/Run/Builtins.hs b/src/Text/Ginger/Run/Builtins.hs
--- a/src/Text/Ginger/Run/Builtins.hs
+++ b/src/Text/Ginger/Run/Builtins.hs
@@ -1,5 +1,7 @@
+{-#LANGUAGE DerivingStrategies #-}
 {-#LANGUAGE FlexibleContexts #-}
 {-#LANGUAGE FlexibleInstances #-}
+{-#LANGUAGE GeneralizedNewtypeDeriving #-}
 {-#LANGUAGE OverloadedStrings #-}
 {-#LANGUAGE TupleSections #-}
 {-#LANGUAGE TypeSynonymInstances #-}
@@ -55,11 +57,10 @@
 import qualified Data.ByteString.UTF8 as UTF8
 import qualified Data.ByteString.Lazy as LBS
 import Control.Monad
-import Control.Monad.Identity
 import Control.Monad.Writer
 import Control.Monad.Reader
 import Control.Monad.State
-import Control.Monad.Except (throwError)
+import Control.Monad.Except (throwError, MonadError)
 import Control.Applicative
 import qualified Data.HashMap.Strict as HashMap
 import Data.HashMap.Strict (HashMap)
@@ -70,6 +71,7 @@
 import Network.HTTP.Types (urlEncode)
 import Debug.Trace (trace)
 import Data.List (lookup, zipWith, unzip, foldl')
+import Data.Monoid (Monoid (..), (<>))
 import Data.Time ( defaultTimeLocale
                  , formatTime
                  , LocalTime (..)
@@ -339,14 +341,31 @@
             return . toGVal $ Text.replace search replace str
         _ -> throwHere $ ArgumentsError (Just "replace") "expected: (str, search, replace)"
 
+gfnSplit :: Monad m => Function (Run p m h)
+gfnSplit args =
+    let argValues =
+            extractArgsDefL
+                [ ("str", def)
+                , ("sep", def)
+                ]
+                args
+    in case argValues of
+        Right [strG, sepG] -> do
+            let search = asText strG
+                split = case asText sepG of
+                    "" -> Text.words
+                    sep -> Text.splitOn sep
+            return . toGVal . split $ search
+        _ -> throwHere $ ArgumentsError (Just "split") "expected: (str, sep=null)"
+
 gfnCompose :: forall m p h. Monad m => Function (Run p m h)
-gfnCompose [] = fail "Invalid arguments to compose()"
+gfnCompose [] = throwError $ ArgumentsError (Just "compose") ""
 gfnCompose [(_, fG)] = return fG
 gfnCompose ((_, fG):xs) = do
   gG <- gfnCompose xs
   case (asFunction fG, asFunction gG) of
-    (Nothing, _) -> fail $ "Argument to compose() is not a function"
-    (_, Nothing) -> fail $ "PANIC: Composition of functions is not a function"
+    (Nothing, _) -> throwError NotAFunctionError
+    (_, Nothing) -> throwError NotAFunctionError
     (Just f, Just g) -> do
       let h args = do
               arg' <- g args
@@ -354,10 +373,10 @@
       return $ fromFunction h
 
 gfnPartial :: forall m p h. Monad m => Function (Run p m h)
-gfnPartial [] = fail "Invalid arguments to partial()"
+gfnPartial [] = throwError $ ArgumentsError (Just "partial") ""
 gfnPartial ((_, fG):args) = do
   case asFunction fG of
-    Nothing -> fail "Argument to partial() is not a function"
+    Nothing -> throwError $ ArgumentsError (Just "partial") "Argument must be a function"
     Just f -> do
       let h args' = do
             f (args ++ args')
@@ -383,7 +402,7 @@
 gfnZipWith :: forall m p h. Monad m => Function (Run p m h)
 gfnZipWith ((Nothing, gfn):args) = do
   zipFunction <- case asFunction gfn of
-    Nothing -> fail $ "Invalid args to zipwith"
+    Nothing -> throwError $ ArgumentsError (Just "zipwith") ""
     Just fn -> return fn
   toGVal <$> go zipFunction (fmap fst args) (fmap (fromMaybe [] . asList . snd) args)
   where
@@ -400,7 +419,7 @@
         return $ currentVal : tailVals
 
 
-gfnMap :: Monad m => Function m
+gfnMap :: (Monad m, MonadError (RuntimeError a) m) => Function m
 gfnMap args = do
     let parsedArgs = extractArgsDefL
             [ ("collection", def)
@@ -416,7 +435,7 @@
                    , Just (asText attribute)
                    )
         _ ->
-            fail "Invalid args to map()"
+            throwError $ ArgumentsError (Just "map") ""
     mapFunction <- case (functionMay, attributeMay) of
         (Just f, _) -> return f
         (Nothing, Just key) -> return $ \case
@@ -424,7 +443,7 @@
                 return $ lookupLooseDef def (toGVal key) item
             _ ->
                 return def
-        _ -> fail "You have to pass a function or an attribute"
+        _ -> throwError $ ArgumentsError (Just "map") "You have to pass a function or an attribute"
     case (dictMay, listMay) of
         (Just items, _) ->
             dict <$> forM items
@@ -434,6 +453,17 @@
         (Nothing, Nothing) ->
             return def
 
+gfnReverse :: forall p m h. Monad m => Function (Run p m h)
+gfnReverse args = do
+    let parsedArgs = extractArgsDefL
+            [ ("reversee", def)
+            ]
+            args
+    reversee <- case parsedArgs of
+        Right [reversee] -> return reversee
+        _ -> throwHere $ ArgumentsError (Just "reverse") "expected: (reversee)"
+    return . toGVal $ List.reverse <$> asList reversee
+    
 
 gfnSort :: forall p m h. Monad m => Function (Run p m h)
 gfnSort args = do
@@ -635,10 +665,10 @@
             lt <- parseTimeM True defaultTimeLocale fmt input
             return $ ZonedTime lt defTZ
         formats =
-            [ (ztparse, "%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S%Z")
-            , (utcparse, "%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S")
-            , (ztparse, "%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S%z")
-            , (ztparse, "%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S%Z")
+            [ (ztparse, "%Y-%m-%dT%H:%M:%S%Q%Z")
+            , (utcparse, "%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S%Q")
+            , (ztparse, "%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S%Q%z")
+            , (ztparse, "%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S%Q%Z")
             , (utcparse, "%Y-%m-%d")
             ]
 
@@ -834,9 +864,14 @@
         go [r, h, Just def]
       [Just reG, Just haystackG, Just optsG] -> do
         opts <- parseCompOpts optsG
-        let re = RE.makeRegexOpts opts RE.defaultExecOpt (Text.unpack . asText $ reG)
+        let reM = runFailToEither $
+                      RE.makeRegexOptsM opts RE.defaultExecOpt (Text.unpack . asText $ reG)
             haystack = Text.unpack . asText $ haystackG
-        return $ matchFunc re haystack
+        case reM of
+            Left err ->
+                throwHere $ ArgumentsError (Just "re.match") $ "invalid regex: " <> Text.pack err
+            Right re ->
+                return $ matchFunc re haystack
       _ -> barf
     barf = do
       throwHere $ ArgumentsError (Just "re.match") "expected: regex, haystack, [opts]"
@@ -855,3 +890,17 @@
     )
     RE.blankCompOpt
     str
+
+-- | This type provides an easy way to use 'RE.makeRegexOptsM' without having
+-- to add a new dependency.
+newtype FailToEither a
+  = FailToEither
+      { runFailToEither :: Either String a
+      }
+  deriving newtype (Applicative, Functor, Monad)
+
+instance MonadFail FailToEither where
+  fail = FailToEither . Left
+  {-# INLINE fail #-}
+
+-- vim: sw=4 ts=4 expandtab
diff --git a/src/Text/Ginger/Run/Type.hs b/src/Text/Ginger/Run/Type.hs
--- a/src/Text/Ginger/Run/Type.hs
+++ b/src/Text/Ginger/Run/Type.hs
@@ -80,7 +80,7 @@
 import Text.Printf
 import Text.PrintfA
 import Data.Scientific (formatScientific)
-import Control.Monad.Except (ExceptT (..))
+import Control.Monad.Trans.Except (ExceptT (..), runExceptT)
 import Data.Default (Default (..), def)
 
 import Data.Char (isSpace)
@@ -104,6 +104,7 @@
 import Network.HTTP.Types (urlEncode)
 import Debug.Trace (trace)
 import Data.Maybe (isNothing)
+import Data.Monoid (Monoid (..), (<>))
 import Data.List (lookup, zipWith, unzip)
 
 -- | Execution context. Determines how to look up variables from the
@@ -193,7 +194,7 @@
 -- based on a lookup key, and a writer function (outputting HTML by whatever
 -- means the carrier monad provides, e.g. @putStr@ for @IO@, or @tell@ for
 -- @Writer@s).
-makeContextM' :: (Monad m, Functor m)
+makeContextM' :: Monad m
              => (VarName -> Run p m h (GVal (Run p m h)))
              -> (h -> m ())
              -> (GVal (Run p m h) -> h)
@@ -202,7 +203,7 @@
 makeContextM' lookupFn writeFn encodeFn newlines =
   makeContextExM' lookupFn writeFn (Prelude.const $ return ()) encodeFn newlines
 
-makeContextExM' :: (Monad m, Functor m)
+makeContextExM' :: Monad m
              => (VarName -> Run p m h (GVal (Run p m h)))
              -> (h -> m ())
              -> (RuntimeError p -> m ())
@@ -249,7 +250,7 @@
 makeContext = makeContextHtml
 
 {-#DEPRECATED makeContextM "Compatibility alias for makeContextHtmlM" #-}
-makeContextM :: (Monad m, Functor m)
+makeContextM :: Monad m
              => (VarName -> Run p m Html (GVal (Run p m Html)))
              -> (Html -> m ())
              -> GingerContext p m Html
@@ -259,13 +260,13 @@
                 -> GingerContext p (Writer Html) Html
 makeContextHtml l = makeContext' l toHtml (Just htmlNewlines)
 
-makeContextHtmlM :: (Monad m, Functor m)
+makeContextHtmlM :: Monad m
                  => (VarName -> Run p m Html (GVal (Run p m Html)))
                  -> (Html -> m ())
                  -> GingerContext p m Html
 makeContextHtmlM l w = makeContextM' l w toHtml (Just htmlNewlines)
 
-makeContextHtmlExM :: (Monad m, Functor m)
+makeContextHtmlExM :: Monad m
                  => (VarName -> Run p m Html (GVal (Run p m Html)))
                  -> (Html -> m ())
                  -> (RuntimeError p -> m ())
@@ -276,13 +277,13 @@
                 -> GingerContext p (Writer Text) Text
 makeContextText l = makeContext' l asText (Just textNewlines)
 
-makeContextTextM :: (Monad m, Functor m)
+makeContextTextM :: Monad m
                  => (VarName -> Run p m Text (GVal (Run p m Text)))
                  -> (Text -> m ())
                  -> GingerContext p m Text
 makeContextTextM l w = makeContextM' l w asText (Just textNewlines)
 
-makeContextTextExM :: (Monad m, Functor m)
+makeContextTextExM :: Monad m
                  => (VarName -> Run p m Text (GVal (Run p m Text)))
                  -> (Text -> m ())
                  -> (RuntimeError p -> m ())
@@ -521,13 +522,13 @@
 warnFromMaybe err d Nothing = warn err >> return d
 warnFromMaybe _ d (Just x) = return x
 
-setSourcePos :: (Monad m, Applicative m, Functor m)
+setSourcePos :: Monad m
              => p
              -> Run p m h ()
 setSourcePos pos =
   modify (\s -> s { rsCurrentSourcePos = pos })
 
-getSourcePos :: (Monad m, Applicative m, Functor m)
+getSourcePos :: Monad m
              => Run p m h p
 getSourcePos = gets rsCurrentSourcePos
 
@@ -539,7 +540,7 @@
 -- | @withSourcePos pos action@ runs @action@ in a context where the
 -- current source location is set to @pos@. The original source position is
 -- restored when @action@ finishes.
-withSourcePos :: (Monad m, Applicative m, Functor m)
+withSourcePos :: Monad m
               => p
               -> Run p m h a
               -> Run p m h a
diff --git a/src/Text/PrintfA.hs b/src/Text/PrintfA.hs
--- a/src/Text/PrintfA.hs
+++ b/src/Text/PrintfA.hs
@@ -9,4 +9,4 @@
 data PrintfTypeT = T { unT :: forall r. PrintfType r => r }
 
 printfa :: PrintfType t => String -> [ PrintfArgT ] -> t
-printfa format = unT . foldl (\(T r) (P a) -> T $ r a ) (T $ printf format)
+printfa format = (\(T t) -> t) . foldl (\(T r) (P a) -> T $ r a ) (T $ printf format)
diff --git a/test/Spec.hs b/test/Spec.hs
--- a/test/Spec.hs
+++ b/test/Spec.hs
@@ -13,3 +13,4 @@
         [ simulationTests
         , propertyTests
         ]
+
diff --git a/test/Text/Ginger/PropertyTests.hs b/test/Text/Ginger/PropertyTests.hs
--- a/test/Text/Ginger/PropertyTests.hs
+++ b/test/Text/Ginger/PropertyTests.hs
@@ -8,6 +8,9 @@
 import Test.Tasty.QuickCheck
 import Data.Text (Text)
 import qualified Data.Text as Text
+import Data.ByteString (ByteString)
+import qualified Data.ByteString as BS
+import qualified Data.ByteString.Lazy as LBS
 import Data.Default (def)
 import qualified Data.HashMap.Strict as HashMap
 import Control.Exception
@@ -21,6 +24,12 @@
 instance Arbitrary Text where
     arbitrary = Text.pack <$> arbitrary
 
+instance Arbitrary ByteString where
+    arbitrary = BS.pack <$> arbitrary
+
+instance Arbitrary LBS.ByteString where
+    arbitrary = LBS.pack <$> arbitrary
+
 instance Arbitrary Html where
     arbitrary = oneof
         [ html <$> arbitrary
@@ -100,6 +109,7 @@
         , testProperty "Bool" (roundTripGValP :: Bool -> Bool)
         , testProperty "[Text]" (roundTripGValP :: [Text] -> Bool)
         , testProperty "Maybe Text" (roundTripGValP :: Maybe Text -> Bool)
+        , testProperty "ByteString" (roundTripGValP :: Maybe ByteString -> Bool)
         , testProperty "Text" (roundTripGValP :: Text -> Bool)
         , testProperty "LocalTime" (roundTripGValP :: LocalTime -> Bool)
         , testProperty "TimeZone" (roundTripGValP :: TimeZone -> Bool)
diff --git a/test/Text/Ginger/SimulationTests.hs b/test/Text/Ginger/SimulationTests.hs
--- a/test/Text/Ginger/SimulationTests.hs
+++ b/test/Text/Ginger/SimulationTests.hs
@@ -549,6 +549,22 @@
                 mkTestHtml [] []
                     "{{ '2015-06-13T12:05:43Z'|date('%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S') }}"
                     "2015-06-13 12:05:43"
+            , testCase "format a string with fractional seconds as a date (all variants)" $ do
+                mkTestHtml [] []
+                    "{{ '2015-06-13T12:05:43.271828Z'|date('%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S%Q') }}"
+                    "2015-06-13 12:05:43.271828"
+                mkTestHtml [] []
+                    "{{ '2015-06-13 12:05:43.271828'|date('%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S%Q') }}"
+                    "2015-06-13 12:05:43.271828"
+                mkTestHtml [] []
+                    "{{ '2015-06-13 12:05:43.271828z'|date('%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S%Q') }}"
+                    "2015-06-13 12:05:43.271828"
+                mkTestHtml [] []
+                    "{{ '2015-06-13 12:05:43.271828Z'|date('%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S%Q') }}"
+                    "2015-06-13 12:05:43.271828"
+                mkTestHtml [] []
+                    "{{ '2015-06-13 12:05:43.271828+0200'|date('%Y-%m-%d %H:%M:%S%Q%z') }}"
+                    "2015-06-13 12:05:43.271828+0200"
             , testCase "format a string as a time-of-day" $ do
                 mkTestHtml [] []
                     "{{ '2015-06-13 12:05:43'|date('%H-%M-%S') }}"
@@ -903,6 +919,20 @@
                 mkTestHtml [] []
                     "{{ \"12345\"|slice(1,3) }}"
                     "234"
+            ]
+        , testGroup "\"split\""
+            [ testCase "word-splitting" $ do
+                mkTestText [] []
+                    "{{ split('foo bar')|json(pretty=0) }}"
+                    "[\"foo\",\"bar\"]"
+            , testCase "word-splitting, more spaces" $ do
+                mkTestText [] []
+                    "{{ split('  foo  bar ')|json(pretty=0) }}"
+                    "[\"foo\",\"bar\"]"
+            , testCase "word-splitting, more spaces, explicit delim" $ do
+                mkTestText [] []
+                    "{{ split('  foo  bar ','')|json(pretty=0) }}"
+                    "[\"foo\",\"bar\"]"
             ]
         , testGroup "\"replace\""
             [ testCase "simple case" $ do